When it rains...

It's been said that when it rains, it pours. And here in India during the summer it pours everyday. But the monsoon rains are not our biggest challenge. It seems like everyday we face new obstacles in our path, and sometimes they cause us to fall hard.

Early in July, Jared & Jonathan made the half-day trip down the mountain into the sweltering heat of the plains by motorcycle to deliver the tithe and offering from our small little fellowship in Darjeeling to the SDA conference office. Due to heavy traffic and monsoon rains, the highways here have become treacherous to drive on. On the return trip, Jared & Jonathan swerved to miss one large pothole and unfortunately dropped the front wheel of the bike into another one. Jonathan was tossed off the back, and Jared was thrown over the handlebars. Jonathan injured his tailbone, and Jared got some serious road rash on his legs and arms. Still at least four or five hours from home, Jared and Jonathan limped home as best they could. Because the bike was damaged, the trip took much longer. In addition, they got a flat tire about an hour from Darjeeling and had to push the bike home in the dark, still bleeding and bruised. Instead of four or five hours, it took them over eight hours.

While still recovering from his accident, Jared also came down with another bad case of Giardia (intestinal parasite) for about a week. Then, just when Jared got over that, Tonya came down with a nasty sinus infection and was put out of commission for a week as well.

And then it really poured. The first day we were well enough to study with our language teacher she informed us that she has accepted a job to work for two years for a retail company in the Middle East. The news hurt worse than the motorcycle accident. We have gotten to know our language helper really well, and she is our best friend here in Darjeeling. She is a great teacher, and it's hard to face the reality of finding someone to replace her. But what really hurts the most is that two weeks before she broke the news about her new job to us she told us that she wants to become a Christian. It's difficult to say goodbye when we so desperately want her to stay and get to know Jesus better.

Please continue to pray for our friend. Your prayers are important. Thank you.

Jared & Tonya Wright